Directed by Koichiro Ito (Metal Gear Solid V) and produced by Junichi Ehara (NieR:Automata), The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story centers around the ill-fated Shijima family, who have experienced a chain of inexplicable deaths in their family over the past century.

Players will take on the role of mystery novelist, Haruka Kagami and use their powers of deductions to uncover the truth behind four murder cases that have taken place in the Shijima household over the last one hundred years. You’ll explore both the past and the present in four murder cases, set across different eras of Japan. Take on this accessible mystery story, uncover the truth of the case and reveal the culprit!

Of course, unravelling this intricate web of secrets won’t be straightforward. You’ll have to have your wits about you as you uncover clues, speak to suspects, and put all the pieces of the puzzle together to form a hypothesis. Not everyone you speak to will be cooperative, so be ready to counter their arguments when you present your case. And don’t worry if your detective skills are a little rusty - the game is designed in such a way that you’ll be able to reach the correct answer if you don’t give up.

Yasuhito Tachibana, producer of Netflix’s ‘The Naked Director’ serves as Cinematographer and Scenario Director on The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story, taking visual storytelling to a new level with high-quality cinematography and thrilling live-action gameplay. Players will be immersed into an authentically traditional Japanese story where they will transcend time across different eras of Japan while collecting information scattered throughout each era to uncover the truth behind the ill-fated Shijima family and solve an age-old mystery.

The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story features compelling performances from Nanami Sakuraba as the games’ protagonist, Haruka Kagami and Yuta Hiraoka as Eiji Shijima, the second son of the Shijima family who returns home to help unravel the mystery behind his ill-fated family. A cast of talented Japanese actors bring this enigmatic Japanese adventure to life, depicting an array of characters throughout each period setting.

The Shijima family have suffered a chain of inexplicable deaths over the past century. When Haruka Kagami, a mystery writer, visits the Shijimas, she finds herself taking on four different murder cases – occurring at different points in time, yet linked to the Fruit of Youth.

The scarlet camellia and the Fruit of Youth, which invite only death. And the truth behind it all, waiting to be uncovered...

Solve an age-old mystery using your powers of deduction to uncover the truth. Collect clues, establish a hypothesis, and use logic to break through the mysteries.

In The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story, the player will take on four murder cases at different points in time from the perspective of Haruka Kagami, the protagonist. From a 1922 murder at an auction, to a murder at the Shijima residence in 2022, she will encounter numerous incidents intricately linked to the Fruit of Youth...

Characters (Guest Cast)

• Makoto Nishimari (played by: Yuki Kaji - Appearing in: 2022 / Chapter 2: The Elusive Path of Logic): A detective who calls himself Makoto Nishimari, the name of the protagonist in the series of novels penned by Haruka, the Detective Makoto Nishimari series. Ryoei has hired him to solve the numerous mysterious deaths that have occurred in the Shijima family.

• Kanako (played by: Momo Asakura - Appearing in: 1972 / Chapter 3: The Fateful Elegy): A singer-in-training working at the Scarlet Camellia nightclub. She harbours an intense admiration for Saya, known as the eternal diva.

• Ayame Shijima (played by: Manao Kagawa - Appearing in: 1922 (Winter) / Chapter 4: The River of Oblivion): Saeita Shijima’s wife. Like Yoshino, she is attending the Shijima family’s traditional rite of succession, the lantern ceremony.

Every story has a mystery, and there will always be clues to help solve that mystery.

Gameplay

Inside the cognitive space of mystery writer Haruka Kagami, the player fits the mystery and clues together like a puzzle, coming up with hypotheses and using their reasoning to uncover the truth. Uncover the truth of the case and reveal the killer!

1. Incident Phase: The entire truth of the murder is contained here. Find the clues!
2. Reasoning Phase: Connect mysteries and clues in the protagonist’s cognitive space to create different hypotheses.
3. Solution Phase: Use the hypotheses you’ve established to uncover the truth and reveal the killer!

Features to assist your reasoning and improve the game experience

Floorplans: You will be able to check the floorplans of the area surrounding the scene of the murder. It may be useful to refer to these if something bothers you – for example, where people were positioned.

Insight: The path of logic has a feature that allows you to use Insight to highlight clues corresponding to the mysteries. Insight can only be used a limited number of times, but you will gain another charge of Insight every six hypotheses you create. Insight does not affect your Reasoning Evaluation, so feel free to use it liberally. Holding down the “Insight” button will cause the icon in the bottom-left of the screen to glow...displaying hints around the mysteries and clues!

Reasoning Evaluation: This system will evaluate the player’s reasoning in each chapter. If you’re confident in your powers of deduction, try to get the highest possible evaluation! (The Reasoning Evaluation will not influence the progression of the story in any way.)

BAD END → Getting a Revelation: Even if your reasoning hits a wall and you run into a BAD END, rest assured that there’s a hint feature called “Getting a Revelation” that allows you to take a peek at a scene slightly further into the future. As long you don’t give up, you’re sure to reach the story’s conclusion!

Analysis: This allows you to check terminology that appears in the game from the menu screen whenever you like. If you want to deepen your enjoyment of the world of The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story, then we would recommend taking a look through this section! (Using this feature will lower your Reasoning Evaluation.)

Players can pre-order The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story on PC (Steam) digitally beginning today. Those who purchase the game before May 19, 2022 will receive the base game, The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story BEHIND THE SCENES, and ‘The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story’ mini soundtrack composed by Yuki Hayashi (anime and game series Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai), Daiki Okuno, Ryoshi Takagi, Shuichiro Fukuhiro and Shogo Yamashiro.

The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story will be available for PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC (Steam) on May 12, 2022 at £39.99 /  €49.99 /  $49.99.